Hits and misses

Hit: Congratulations to Josh Feng for being awarded the prestigious Herbert V. Kohler Scholarship, an $80,000 prize for a private school education. The award annoncement opened a night of celebrating North High School's Class of 2013 achievements on Wednesday.

Feng related running a gamut of emotions when he saw Kohler step onto the stage for the school's annual Scholarship Night. Who can blame him for relating that his heart was racing as Kohler announced his name as the winner.

Feng will attend Kohler's alma mater - Yale University - to study physics. It marks just the 13th time a North High student has won the Kohler award since the first one in 1969. Feng intends on pursuing a career as a scientific researcher, exploring ways to impact environmental degradation and technological development.

We think Kohler did his research in choosing Feng for one of the most prestigious scholarships around.

Miss: An unfortunate development also grew out of the same Scholarship Night event that brought elation to so many. The award granted to 18-year-old Matthew S. Pentak was rescinded after it was discovered Pentak had a past criminal conviction inconsistent with the values of the Matthew M. Roelse Memorial Scouting Scholarship.

Pentak, and Eagle Scout, had been convicted of misdemeanor sexual assault of a boy when he was 17, and was placed on a preferred prosecution agreement on a related felony charge. The Roelse family had recommended Pentak for the scholarship based on teacher recommendations and other factors, but were not aware of the criminal behavior.

The situation likely is embarrassing for all involved, but it shouldn't be. It would be very time consuming and costly to perform the type of background checks on scholarship recipients that society performs on, say, teachers and other public servants. Oftentimes, even they are not as thorough as they need to be.

The Roelse family, the school and the foundation that coordinates the scholarships were not tipped off to Pentak's past, and it took a citizen to come forward after the award had been presented.

We also hope that Pentak does not see the rescinding of the scholarship as a rebuff, but merely another consequence of bad choices in his past. We hope he takes his Eagle Scout present into a bright future unmarred by any more controversy.

Hit: More jobs for Sheboygan is always good news. Officials from Faith Technologies, an electrical contractor based in Menasha, announced last week that they will hold a job fair in Kohler on May 22 to fill about 250 jobs statewide, including at least 40 at its Sheboygan branch.

Even more encouraging are the kinds of jobs being filled. The company said they are seeking full-time, permanent workers because the economy is improving and construction projects are ramping up in the Midwest.

"Now, our business is picking up a little faster than what we're seeing out of the rest of the economy," said Tom Clark, executive vice president of pre-construction.

We hope that trend continues and spreads to the rest of the economy. The job fair will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on May 22 at the Inn on Woodlake. Types of positions being filled include electrical apprentices, journeymen, superintendents, tower climbers, estimators, project managers and engineers.

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Hits and misses

A look at some of the good, and not-so-good, news of the past week:

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